How a Tax Attorney Represents You | Kathryn Meyer Law PC

Through a power of attorney, usually IRS Form 2848 (the IRS also accepts other documents that meet its requirements). You sign the form naming the attorney as your representative for specific tax matters and years, the attorney signs a declaration, and once the IRS has it, the attorney can speak with the IRS for you, see your account information, attend audit interviews in your place, and sign agreements, consents and waivers on those matters.

The form is short, but the details on it decide what your representative can do and for which years. This page walks through who can represent you, what the authority covers, and how it works during an audit. It is part of Kathryn Meyer's guidance on IRS audits and examinations.

How a power of attorney is put in place, step by step

Describe the matters. On line 3 you list each type of tax, the form number and the specific years or periods. A general reference such as "All years" or "All taxes" is not accepted, and the IRS returns any form that uses one.
You sign. A handwritten signature is required if the form goes by mail or fax; an electronic signature means it must be submitted online.
The representative signs. The declaration must be signed within 45 days of your signature (60 days if you live abroad).
The form is submitted. Online at the IRS's submission page, or by fax or mail, unless it is a specific-use form that goes to the IRS office handling the matter.
The IRS records it. Most powers of attorney are recorded on the Centralized Authorization File (CAF), which lets IRS employees see the authority without asking for the original.

Who can represent you before the IRS?

Practice before the IRS is governed by Treasury Department Circular 230, which sets rules of conduct for tax professionals who deal with the IRS for taxpayers, mainly attorneys, certified public accountants and enrolled agents. The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility enforces those rules and can censure, suspend or disbar practitioners who break them. Form 2848 lists the categories eligible to sign as representatives, including attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries and enrolled retirement plan agents, as well as certain officers, employees and family members.

A return preparer who is none of those has much narrower rights. The Form 2848 instructions say an unenrolled preparer may represent you only before revenue agents and similar employees during an examination of a return the preparer prepared, and cannot represent you before Appeals officers, revenue officers or IRS Chief Counsel attorneys, or sign closing agreements, extend the time to assess or collect tax, or sign waivers or refund claims for you.

What does Form 2848 authorize?

Unless you limit it, the power of attorney lets the representative receive and inspect your confidential tax information and perform all acts you can perform on the listed matters, including signing agreements, consents, waivers and other documents. There are built-in limits:

a representative may never endorse or cash a government refund check or direct a refund into an account the representative controls;
adding or substituting another representative requires your specific permission on the form;
a representative may sign your return only in narrow situations the IRS approves, such as disease, injury or an extended absence from the United States.

What goes on the form?

Part of the form	What it does
Taxpayer information	Your name, taxpayer ID and address. The address here does not change your last known address with the IRS; that takes Form 8822 or 8822-B.
Representatives	Each representative's details and CAF number, the IRS's identification number for authorized representatives. A box lets up to two representatives receive copies of your notices.
Acts authorized	The type of tax, the form number and the years or periods. Future years are recorded only up to 3 years after December 31 of the year the IRS receives the form.
Prior powers of attorney	A new form recorded for the same matter generally revokes earlier ones unless you check the box to keep them and attach copies.
Signatures	You sign first; the representative must sign within 45 days (60 days if you live abroad).

On a joint return, each spouse files a separate Form 2848, even when naming the same representative. If you only want someone to see your information but not speak for you, the form is Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization. Forms can be submitted online, by fax or by mail; a handwritten signature is required when filing by fax or mail.

How does representation work during an audit?

Section 7521 lets a representative holding your written power of attorney attend an audit interview in your place, and the IRS may not require you to come along unless you have been summoned. If you are in an interview and clearly say you want to consult a representative, the examiner must suspend it; the IRS's examination procedures then allow at least 10 business days to consult and arrange representation. From that point the examiner generally works through your representative, who can receive the document requests, answer them and negotiate on your behalf. See your rights during an IRS audit for the full set of interview rules.

Two practical points matter early. First, the form should cover every year and type of tax the examiner is looking at, including employment taxes if the business is under review. Second, representation does not end your own responsibility: the IRS notes that authorizing someone does not relieve you of your tax obligations, so deadlines in letters sent to you still count. A checklist for the first meeting is in what to bring to a first meeting about an IRS audit.

Are there special cases?

Partnerships under the centralized audit regime. A partnership representative is designated on the partnership's return, not on Form 2848; the partnership representative may then use Form 2848 to appoint someone to act for it. See how partnership audits work under the centralized audit regime.
Executors, trustees and guardians. A fiduciary files Form 56 and stands in the taxpayer's place, then signs any Form 2848 naming a representative.
Ending the authority. You can revoke a power of attorney by writing "REVOKE" across a copy with a current signature and date and sending it to the IRS, and a representative can withdraw the same way by writing "WITHDRAW."

Why an attorney rather than another representative?

Attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents can all represent you in an audit. Conversations with an attorney for legal advice are protected by the attorney-client privilege, while section 7525 extends a similar privilege for tax advice from other federally authorized practitioners only in noncriminal matters. Where an audit could lead to litigation or raises questions of intent, that difference can matter, as can experience with how the IRS and its lawyers build a case.

What changes the answer

Penalties not tied to a return. Representation on a return covers its related penalties and interest, but a penalty that is not tied to a return, such as the trust fund recovery penalty, must be listed as "Civil Penalty" on line 3 (Form 2848 instructions). See the trust fund recovery penalty.
Innocent spouse requests. A representative can sign Form 8857 for you only if line 3 describes innocent spouse relief; see innocent spouse relief.
Specific uses. Some matters, such as private letter ruling requests, are not recorded on the CAF; those forms go to the office handling the matter and are checked on line 4.
Additional powers. Substituting or adding representatives, letting a representative sign a return in the narrow cases allowed, consenting to disclosure to third parties, and using an Intermediate Service Provider all require a box on line 5a.
Limits you choose. Line 5b lets you withhold acts the representative may not perform.
Other powers of attorney. The IRS accepts a non-IRS power of attorney that meets its requirements, but it cannot be recorded on the CAF unless a completed Form 2848 is attached.

For example: covering the right years and taxes

For example, imagine a business owner whose company's employment tax returns are under examination for 2024 and 2025, and whose own 2024 income tax return has been selected as well. A single line reading "Income, 1040, 2024" would leave the employment tax examination uncovered. Instead, line 3 lists "Income, 1040, 2024" for the owner, and the company signs its own Form 2848 listing "Employment, 941" for each 2024 and 2025 quarter. If the IRS later proposes a trust fund recovery penalty against the owner personally, a separate entry for "Civil Penalty" with the relevant periods is needed. This is a hypothetical, not a real case.

Common mistakes with Form 2848

Writing "All years". The IRS returns the form.
One form for a married couple. Each spouse signs a separate Form 2848 for a joint return.
Typed or pasted signatures on a mailed or faxed form. Those signatures are not valid; use the online route for electronic signatures.
Missing the 45-day window. The representative's signature must follow yours within 45 days (60 if you live abroad).
Forgetting older authorizations. A new form recorded for the same matter generally revokes earlier ones unless you check the box to keep them.
Leaving out a related entity or tax. The form covers only what line 3 lists, and only for the taxpayer on line 1.

What to do this week

List every IRS letter you have, with the taxpayer, type of tax, form number and years each one covers.
Decide who will represent you and get their CAF number and contact details.
Complete line 3 for each matter and year, and add any civil penalty or innocent spouse entries that apply.
Decide whether to keep or revoke earlier powers of attorney, and attach copies of any you keep.
Sign, have your representative sign within 45 days, and submit online, by fax or by mail.

Frequently asked questions

Does a power of attorney let your representative receive your refund?

No. A representative may never endorse or cash a refund check or direct a refund into an account the representative controls.

Can your representative get copies of your IRS notices?

Yes, if you check the box for it. Up to two representatives can be designated to receive copies of notices and communications.

How many years ahead can the form cover?

You can list future years, but the IRS will not record years more than 3 years after December 31 of the year it receives the form.

Does the IRS still contact you directly after you sign?

Once a representative is authorized, the examiner generally works through that person, but you remain responsible for your tax obligations and for any deadlines in letters you receive.

What can your representative do in collection matters?

Whatever line 3 covers, including negotiating payment arrangements and Collection Due Process requests for the listed years. Options are explained under IRS collections and enforcement. The papers to gather first are listed in what to gather when the IRS starts collection.

Who can represent you at an Appeals conference?

Attorneys, certified public accountants and enrolled agents. Unenrolled preparers cannot. See what happens at an IRS Appeals conference.

Naming Kathryn Meyer as your representative

Kathryn Meyer, a tax attorney who spent more than two decades inside the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, can be named on your Form 2848 so the IRS deals with her instead of you. Contact the firm or call (571) 560-8674 to discuss your matter and the years that need to be covered.

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